Over a thousand Jehovah’s Witnesses prosecuted for refusing mobilization

Jehovah's Witnesses Church. Photo: wikimapia

In Ukraine, members of the Jehovah’s Witnesses community have faced large-scale criminal prosecution for refusing military service, the religious organization reported on Facebook. According to data from the European Association of Jehovah’s Witnesses presented at a roundtable on alternative service on November 10, 2025, since the start of Russia’s full-scale invasion, 1,021 criminal cases have been opened against members of the community.

This was reported by Professor Serhii Rabinovych of the Department of Constitutional Law at Ivan Franko National University of Lviv, who participated in the discussion on the rights of conscientious objectors. Law enforcement agencies are charging believers under Articles 336 (“Evasion of mobilization”) and 402 (“Disobedience”) of the Criminal Code.

To date, four people have already received actual prison sentences, another six are awaiting trial in pre-trial detention centers, and two are under house arrest. Court proceedings are ongoing in 337 cases. Notably, the defendants include not only ordinary members of the community but also leaders: 106 elders, who correspond to bishops in traditional Christian churches, and 64 ministerial servants, analogous to deacons.

The legal dilemma lies in the fact that Ukrainian law does not provide a mechanism for alternative civilian service during martial law. Although the Constitution guarantees the right to substitute military service with alternative service on grounds of religious conviction, no procedures have been developed for mobilization periods. In three and a half years of war, Ukrainian courts have not granted a single petition for alternative service, and believers whose faith prohibits them from bearing arms continue to receive prison terms.

The European Union drew attention to this issue in its 2025 Enlargement Report, emphasizing the need to protect citizens from criminal prosecution for conscientious objection. The Venice Commission reached a similar conclusion in its special opinion issued in March 2025.

Earlier, the UOJ reported that in Zakarpattia, a Jehovah’s Witness was sentenced to three years in prison for refusing mobilization.

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